Recently I posted a new blog on the Huffington Post about a Portland doctor who decided to give $100 to a stranger, every day for a month. Jill Ginsberg hoped her experiment in street philanthropy would help her rid herself of a persistent fear that she would somehow fall into poverty. In the process she learned a great deal about "neediness" and her own assumptions about the poor.

It's a great story, and you can read it here.

Jill Ginsberg gives $100 to a stranger on a Portland bus. Bruce Ely photograph, The Oregonian. — Jill Ginsberg gives $100 to a stranger on a Portland bus. Bruce Ely photograph, *The Oregonian.*

PostedOctober 21, 2014

AuthorJan DeBlieu

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PostedOctober 2, 2014

AuthorJan DeBlieu

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What would you do if you saw a barefoot homeless woman on a bitterly cold winter night?

My friend Estera lives in Seattle and takes the bus to work. A few days ago I received this email message from her:

“I have to tell you this while it’s fresh in my mind. My bus goes by a women’s work-release group home. As usual on this early-morning bus, several young women get on there and make their way to the back. They’re just behind me, talking about homeless people, I think, particularly about one woman downtown whose shoes are so small for her that she has to cut open the toes to make her feet fit in. They’re brainstorming who might have a pair of shoes that would fit so they can give them to her. Then one woman tells this story:

PostedSeptember 19, 2014

AuthorJan DeBlieu

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I've been doing some blogging recently for the Huffington Post. My last blog entry discusses several odd experiences that Jeff and I had after we lost Reid. People would approach us, clearly wishing to give us solace--and then do or say something completely inappropriate.

We didn't let the bereavement gaffs bother us too much. More than anything, I felt bad for the people who made them. So I decided to write something on the topic. You can find my column here:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jan-deblieu/what-to-say-when-someone-_b_5774422.html

You can find my other blog entires in the Huff Post simply by typing Jan DeBlieu into the Search bar.

*Friends helped plant a garden at the crash site where Reid was killed--one of the kindest and most effective gestures anyone made.*

PostedSeptember 18, 2014

AuthorJan DeBlieu

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Twenty years ago, more or less, I was invited to join some other writers who were touring the Appalachian Mountains, visiting colleges and giving readings. Jeff and Reid, then age three, came along. This was a fun group. They joked and talked about their work and formed a loose camaraderie with just about everyone. “Just about” is the operative phrase.

As the days unfolded, I became aware that a poet and essayist from Oregon named Kim Stafford kept abandoning the central group and making a point to talk to those on the fringes,

Give a $100 a Day to Strangers?

Two Short Stories of Service

What to Say When Someone Dies

Poetry in Service

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